Our view: Aviation program aims high

Saturday

High hopes: According to a Boeing study, within the next 20 years the aviation industry worldwide will need 635,000 commercial pilots, 622,000 technicians and 858,000 cab crew members.

That is why it is so exciting to see the Erie School District preparing to launch an introductory aviation class at Erie High School, as reporter Ed Palattella detailed. The curriculum focuses on science, technology, engineering and math and could help students explore interests and aptitudes for careers as pilots, air-traffic controllers, drone operators and more. It is part of an ongoing effort to widen vo-tech offerings that could lead to productive careers.

The class, which begins next fall, also dovetails nicely with an aeronautical science program offered by Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. The Erie High program could act as a pipeline of prospective students.

Give stadium royal treatment: The Erie School District faces a stern challenge of melding three former high schools into one, Erie High School. Part of that work involves strengthening the Erie High identity and brand.

District leaders wisely involved students in picking the mascot and team colors when the schools merged for the 2017-18 school year. Now they want to put the Royals' grand purple and gold logo on new turf to be installed at Veterans Memorial Stadium, as reporter Ed Palattella detailed. But some Erie School Board and community members object, saying that removing the existing logo, which features a soldier and a football player, would be an affront to veterans.

There is no proposal to change the name of the stadium, which honors veterans. And outside the stadium is a growing and impressive collection of monuments to local veterans.

It is true that other teams use the field. But the district owns the stadium and rents it out to those others. Let the Erie High School kids have a proud logo on their home turf. Surely, there is a compromise to be made here.

Springtime rites: It is a sure sign that winter's end is near when these events return.

Erie's St. Patrick's Day celebrations begin today with the 2 p.m. parade downtown. It's an exuberant, Kelly green spectacle that anchors a weekend filled with Irish music, corned beef and cabbage, boiled dinner, toasty Reubens, Irish stew and of course, beer, some it Guinness, some of it green. Enjoy all of it safely and be sure to post your "Celfies" with the hashtag #IrishInErie.

Another sweet way to celebrate the changing seasons is the Maple Taste and Tour Weekend. Across Erie, Crawford, Venango and Warren counties, more than a dozen maple syrup producers open the doors of their sugar shacks to showcase their craft and creations, including maple syrup, candy and sugar. Find your sweet spot at http://pamaple.org/taste-tours.

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